Semiconductor module

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor module includes: a first insulating plate; a second insulating plate is arranged above the first insulating plate; a first semiconductor device provided on an upper surface of the first insulating plate; a second semiconductor device provided on a lower surface of the second insulating plate; an insulating substrate including a third insulating plate arranged between the first insulating plate and the second insulating plate, and a conductor provided on the third insulating plate and connected to the first and second semiconductor devices; and sealing resin sealing the first and second semiconductor devices and the insulating substrate, wherein a withstand voltage of the third insulating plate is lower than withstand voltages of the first and second insulating plates.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field

The present invention relates to a semiconductor module to be used, forexample, for control of a large current.

Background

For a semiconductor module in which first and second insulatingsubstrates provided with semiconductor devices are arranged to face eachother up and down and sealed with resin, a configuration in which athird insulating substrate is connected to the semiconductor devicesinside the module has been proposed (see, for example, Japanese PatentLaid-Open No. 2013-30710).

SUMMARY

Conventionally, the third insulating substrate for insulating the insideof the module has been designed to have the same withstand voltage asthe first and second insulating substrates that perform the insulationbetween the inside and outside of the module. Therefore, there has beena problem that the insulation withstand voltage of the third insulatingsubstrate inside the module is set to a higher value than necessary, sothat the thermal conductivity is lowered to deteriorate heat dissipationperformance, and the material cost is high to cause increase of thecost.

The present invention has been made in order to solve theabove-described problem, and has an object to provide a semiconductormodule that is capable of enhancing the heat dissipation performance andreducing the cost.

A semiconductor module according to the present invention includes: afirst insulating plate; a second insulating plate is arranged above thefirst insulating plate; a first semiconductor device provided on anupper surface of the first insulating plate; a second semiconductordevice provided on a lower surface of the second insulating plate; aninsulating substrate including a third insulating plate arranged betweenthe first insulating plate and the second insulating plate, and aconductor provided on the third insulating plate and connected to thefirst and second semiconductor devices; and sealing resin sealing thefirst and second semiconductor devices and the insulating substrate,wherein a withstand voltage of the third insulating plate is lower thanwithstand voltages of the first and second insulating plates.

In the present invention, the withstand voltage of the third insulatingplate that performs the insulation inside the module is set to be lowerthan the withstand voltages of the first and second insulating platesthat perform the insulation between the inside and outside of themodule. As a result, the heat conductivity of the insulating plate isincreased and heat dissipation is improved. Thus, the material cost canbe saved and the cost can be reduced.

Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention willappear more fully from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a semiconductor moduleaccording to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a top view showing the insulating substrate inside the moduleaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a semiconductor moduleaccording to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of thesemiconductor module according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a semiconductor moduleaccording to a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a semiconductor module according to afourth embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a joint portion between asemiconductor device and an insulating substrate according to a fifthembodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A semiconductor module according to the embodiments of the presentinvention will be described with reference to the drawings. The samecomponents will be denoted by the same symbols, and the repeateddescription thereof may be omitted.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a semiconductor moduleaccording to a first embodiment. An insulating substrate 1 includes aninsulating plate 1 a, a conductor 1 b provided on the lower surface ofthe insulating plate 1 a, and a conductor 1 c provided on the uppersurface of the insulating plate 1 a. An insulating substrate 2 isarranged above the insulating substrate 1. The insulating substrate 2includes an insulating plate 2 a, a conductor 2 b provided on the lowersurface of the insulating plate 2 a, and a conductor 2 c provided on theupper surface of the insulating plate 2 a. Note that in the presentspecification, a surface on an upper side in the cross-sectional view ofFIG. 1 is referred to as “upper surface”, and a surface on a lower sideis referred to as “lower surface”.

A semiconductor device 3 is provided on the upper surface of theinsulating substrate 1. A lower electrode of the semiconductor device 3is connected to the conductor 1 c of the insulating substrate 1 by abrazing material 4. A semiconductor device 5 is provided on the lowersurface of the insulating substrate 2. A lower electrode of thesemiconductor device 5 is connected to the conductor 2 b of theinsulating substrate 2 by a brazing material 6.

An insulating substrate 7 is arranged between the insulating substrate 1and the insulating substrate 2. The insulating substrate 7 includes aninsulating plate 7 a and conductors 7 b, 7 c, and 7 d provided on theupper and lower surfaces of the insulating plate 7 a. A through hole 8penetrating the insulating plate 7 a is provided. FIG. 2 is a top viewshowing the insulating substrate inside the module according to thefirst embodiment. The conductors 7 b, 7 c, 7 d are also wired in aplanar direction on the upper and lower surfaces of the insulating plate7 a.

The conductor 7 b is provided on the upper and lower surfaces of theinsulating plate 7 a through the through hole 8, and is connected to theupper surface electrode of the semiconductor device 3 and the conductor2 b of the insulating substrate 2 through a brazing material 9. Theconductor 7 c is connected to the upper surface electrode of thesemiconductor device 5 through a brazing material 10. The conductor 7 dis connected to the conductor 1 c of the insulating substrate 1 througha brazing material 11.

Note that the brazing materials 4, 6, 9 to 11 are, for example, solder,but may be Ag paste or other conductive connecting materials. Theinsulating substrates 1, 2, and 7 are, for example, a printed board, aceramic substrate with a copper pattern or the like, and may be amultilayer board.

Sealing resin 12 seals the semiconductor devices 3 and 5 and theinsulating substrate 7. The lower surface of the insulating substrate 1and the upper surface of the insulating substrate 2 located on theopposite sides to the surfaces of the insulating substrates 1 and 2 onwhich the semiconductor devices 3 and 5 are provided respectively areexposed from the sealing resin 12 to the outside. Heat generated by thesemiconductor devices 3 and 5 also increases the temperature of theinsulating substrate 7 inside the module. The insulating substrate 7 iscooled via the brazing materials 9 and 11 and the upper and lowerinsulating substrates 1 and 2.

The withstand voltage of the insulating plate 7 a is lower than thewithstand voltages of the insulating plates 1 a and 2 a. Here, thewithstand voltage is determined by the product of the thickness of theinsulating plate and the dielectric strength of the insulating plate.Therefore, when the insulating plates 1 a and 2 a and the insulatingplate 7 a are made of the same material, the thickness of the insulatingplate 7 a is smaller than the thicknesses of the insulating plates 1 aand 2 a. Alternatively, the insulating plate 7 a is different ininsulating material from the insulating plates 1 a and 2 a, and thedielectric strength of the insulating plate 7 a is lower than thedielectric strengths of the insulating plates 1 a and 2 a.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the withstand voltage ofthe insulating plate 7 a of the insulating substrate 7 that performs theinsulation inside the module is set to be lower than the withstandvoltages of the insulating plates 1 a and 2 a of the insulatingsubstrates 1 and 2 that perform the insulation between the inside andoutside of the module. As a result, the heat dissipation performance ofthe insulating plate 7 a is enhanced, the material cost can be saved andthe cost can be reduced.

Furthermore, by providing the semiconductor devices 3 and 5 up and down,the power can be increased and the footprint can be reduced. Since thelower surface of the insulating substrate 1 and the upper surface of theinsulating substrate 2 are exposed from the sealing resin 12, the heatdissipation performance can be enhanced by double-side cooling.

In general semiconductor modules, current is taken out from thesemiconductor devices 3 and 5 to an external electrode via patterns ofthe insulating substrates by wires. On the other hand, in the presentembodiment, since the semiconductor devices 3 and 5 are connected to theinsulating substrate 7 by the brazing material such as solder, it ispossible to take out current in a large area. Therefore, thesemiconductor devices 3 and 5 can be miniaturized, so that thesemiconductor module can also be miniaturized.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a semiconductor moduleaccording to a second embodiment. In the present embodiment, theinsulating substrate 2 of the first embodiment is changed to a metalblock 13 of copper, aluminum or the like. The metal block 13 isconnected to the upper surface electrode of the semiconductor device 5.A part 12 a of the sealing resin 12 covers the upper surface of themetal block 13.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of thesemiconductor module according to the second embodiment. In addition tothe configuration of FIG. 3, the insulating substrate 1 of the firstembodiment is changed to a metal block 14 of copper, aluminum or thelike. The metal block 14 is connected to the lower surface electrode ofthe first semiconductor device 3. A part 12 b of the sealing resin 12covers the lower surface of the metal block 14.

In the present embodiment, the cost can be reduced by insulating theinside and outside of the module with the sealing resin 12 by usingneither the insulating substrate 1 nor the insulating substrate 2.Furthermore, the withstand voltage of the insulating plate 7 a of theinsulating substrate 7 that performs the insulation inside the module isset to be lower than the withstand voltage of parts 12 a and 12 b of thesealing resin 12 that performs the insulation between the inside andoutside of the module. As a result, an effect similar to the effect ofthe first embodiment can be obtained. Note that each of the metal blocks13 and 14 is not limited to one metal block, and may be a plurality ofmetal blocks.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a semiconductor moduleaccording to a third embodiment. In the present embodiment, asemiconductor device 15 is provided on the insulating substrate 7. Anupper surface electrode of the semiconductor device 15 is connected tothe conductor 7 b of the insulating substrate 7 by a brazing material 16such as solder, and is connected to the conductor 1 c of the insulatingsubstrate 1 by a brazing material 17. As described above, thesemiconductor device 15 is also provided to the insulating substrate 7inside the module, whereby it is possible to increase the currentdensity of the semiconductor module. Other configurations and effectsare similar to the configurations and effects of the first embodiment.Note that the insulating substrates 1 and 2 may be changed to the metalblocks 13 and 14 as in the case of the second embodiment.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a semiconductor module according to afourth embodiment. A spacer 18 of metal such as copper is provided tosecure a gap between the insulating substrate 1 and the insulatingsubstrate 7. A spacer 19 of metal such as copper is provided to secure agap between the insulating substrate 2 and the insulating substrate 7.The spacer 18 is connected to the conductors 1 c and 7 b of theinsulating substrates 1 and 7 by a brazing material. The spacer 19 isconnected to the conductors 2 b and 7 b of the insulating substrates 2and 7 by a brazing material.

Stress applied to the semiconductor devices 3 and 5 can be reduced bysecuring the gaps with the spacers 18 and 19. Furthermore, fluidity ofthe sealing resin 12 can be secured. Note that the insulating substrates1 and 2 may be changed to the metal blocks 13 and 14 as in the case ofthe second embodiment.

Fifth Embodiment

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a joint portion between asemiconductor device and an insulating substrate according to a fifthembodiment. In the semiconductor modules of the first to fourthembodiments, the conductor 7 b of the insulating substrate 7 is providedwith an insulating film 20 such as a resist for controlling a jointregion with the brazing material 9. The area of the opening of theinsulating film 20 is set to be smaller than the area of the uppersurface electrode of the semiconductor device 3. By controlling thejoint region as described above, the brazing material 9 is shaped like atrapezoid when melted, and the connection area between the brazingmaterial 9 and the semiconductor device 3 becomes larger than theconnection area between the brazing material 9 and the conductor 7 b ofthe insulating substrate 7. The same applies to the joint portionbetween the semiconductor device 5 and the insulating substrate 7. Bycontrolling the shape of the brazing material 9 as described above,stress applied to the semiconductor devices 3 and 5 can be reduced.

The semiconductor devices 3, 5, 15 are not limited to semiconductordevices formed of silicon, but instead may be formed of a wide-bandgapsemiconductor having a bandgap wider than that of silicon. Thewide-bandgap semiconductor is, for example, a silicon carbide, agallium-nitride-based material, or diamond. A semiconductor deviceformed of such a wide-bandgap semiconductor has a high voltageresistance and a high allowable current density, and thus can beminiaturized. The use of such a miniaturized semiconductor deviceenables the miniaturization and high integration of the semiconductormodule in which the semiconductor device is incorporated. Further, sincethe semiconductor device has a high heat resistance, a radiation fin ofa heatsink can be miniaturized and a water-cooled part can beair-cooled, which leads to further miniaturization of the semiconductormodule. Further, since the semiconductor device has a low power loss anda high efficiency, a highly efficient semiconductor module can beachieved.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-080267,filed on Apr. 19, 2019 including specification, claims, drawings andsummary, on which the Convention priority of the present application isbased, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor module comprising: a firstinsulating plate; a second insulating plate arranged above the firstinsulating plate; a first semiconductor device provided on an uppersurface of the first insulating plate; a second semiconductor deviceprovided on a lower surface of the second insulating plate; aninsulating substrate including a third insulating plate arranged betweenthe first insulating plate and the second insulating plate, and aconductor provided on the third insulating plate and connected to thefirst and second semiconductor devices; and sealing resin sealing thefirst and second semiconductor devices and the insulating substrate,wherein a withstand voltage of the third insulating plate is lower thanwithstand voltages of the first and second insulating plates.
 2. Thesemiconductor module according to claim 1, further comprising: a firstinsulating substrate including the first insulating plate; and a secondinsulating substrate including the second insulating plate, wherein alower surface of the first insulating substrate and an upper surface ofthe second insulating substrate are exposed from the sealing resin. 3.The semiconductor module according to claim 1, further comprising afirst metal block connected to an upper surface of the secondsemiconductor device, wherein the second insulating plate is a part ofthe sealing resin covering an upper surface of the first metal block. 4.The semiconductor module according to claim 1, further comprising asecond metal block connected to a lower surface of the firstsemiconductor device, wherein the first insulating plate is a part ofthe sealing resin covering a lower surface of the second metal block. 5.The semiconductor module according to claim 3, further comprising asecond metal block connected to a lower surface of the firstsemiconductor device, wherein the first insulating plate is a part ofthe sealing resin covering a lower surface of the second metal block. 6.The semiconductor module according to claim 1, further comprising athird semiconductor device provided on the insulating substrate.
 7. Thesemiconductor module according to claim 2, further comprising a thirdsemiconductor device provided on the insulating substrate.
 8. Thesemiconductor module according to claim 3, further comprising a thirdsemiconductor device provided on the insulating substrate.
 9. Thesemiconductor module according to claim 4, further comprising a thirdsemiconductor device provided on the insulating substrate.
 10. Thesemiconductor module according to claim 5, further comprising a thirdsemiconductor device provided on the insulating substrate.
 11. Thesemiconductor module according to claim 1, further comprising a spacerprovided to secure a gap between the first or second insulating plateand the insulating substrate.
 12. The semiconductor module according toclaim 2, further comprising a spacer provided to secure a gap betweenthe first or second insulating plate and the insulating substrate. 13.The semiconductor module according to claim 3, further comprising aspacer provided to secure a gap between the first or second insulatingplate and the insulating substrate.
 14. The semiconductor moduleaccording to claim 1, further comprising a brazing material connectingthe first or second semiconductor device to the conductor of theinsulating substrate, wherein a connection area between the brazingmaterial and the first or second semiconductor device is larger than aconnection area between the brazing material and the conductor of theinsulating substrate.
 15. The semiconductor module according to claim 2,further comprising a brazing material connecting the first or secondsemiconductor device to the conductor of the insulating substrate,wherein a connection area between the brazing material and the first orsecond semiconductor device is larger than a connection area between thebrazing material and the conductor of the insulating substrate.
 16. Thesemiconductor module according to claim 3, further comprising a brazingmaterial connecting the first or second semiconductor device to theconductor of the insulating substrate, wherein a connection area betweenthe brazing material and the first or second semiconductor device islarger than a connection area between the brazing material and theconductor of the insulating substrate.
 17. The semiconductor moduleaccording to claim 1, wherein the first and second semiconductor devicesare made of a wide-band-gap semiconductor.
 18. The semiconductor moduleaccording to claim 2, wherein the first and second semiconductor devicesare made of a wide-band-gap semiconductor.
 19. The semiconductor moduleaccording to claim 3, wherein the first and second semiconductor devicesare made of a wide-band-gap semiconductor.